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ROH announces contemporary opera series

25 January 2013, London, UK

ROH director of opera Kasper Holten(Photo: Sim Canetty-Clarke)

London’s Royal Opera House has announced plans to present more than 15 new operas between 2013 and 2020, including four commissions for the main stage in 2020.

The move follows criticism that despite receiving more public funds than any other arts organisation in the UK, the Royal Opera has veered towards safe programming over recent seasons. It is the first major programming announcement to emerge under the leadership of Kasper Holten, who became ROH director of opera in autumn 2011.

‘New work is not and should not be at the periphery of our programme’, said Holten, ‘but right at the core of who we are. And this is something we do, not because we must, but because it is something that we are passionate about’.

Several of the new works will be presented in the Linbury Studio Theatre, but audiences can also look forward to a total of eight main stage productions between 2015 and 2020, including Thomas Adès next large-scale opera, based on Buñuel’s film The Exterminating Angel, plus scores by Mark-Anthony Turnage, Kaija Saariaho, Jörg Widmann, Luca Francesconi and Goerg Friederich Haas.

The current season features the UK premiere of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin during March, and the UK stage premiere of Gerald Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest at the Linbury Studio Theatre during June.